Your Health: May 21, 2001

PILL OR PATCH? Mention birth control, and most people think of the Pill. Well, soon there may be an even easier way to prevent pregnancies. The world's first contraceptive skin patch--still a year away from FDA approval--may be just as effective as the birth-control pill in preventing pregnancies, say researchers. The patch is changed once a week, so women don't have to remember to pop a pill every day. And unlike another Pill alternative--Depo-Provera injections, which last three months--the effect can be reversed simply by taking the patch off.

BONE BUILDERS The list of treatments for osteoporosis--calcium, hormone-...